Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein By Jennifer Roy, Ali Fadhil Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Age Range: 10+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat …a disturbing but accessible portrait of a civilian child’s perspective on war. —Publishers Weekly Description At the start of 1991, eleven-year-old Ali Fadhil was consumed by his love for soccer, video games, and American television shows. Then, on January 17, Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussein went to war with thirty-four nations led by the United States. Over the next forty-three days, Ali and his family survived...

The Breadwinner Original book by Deborah Ellis (Graphic novel adapted from feature film) Published by Groundwood Books Age Range: 10+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “A realistic view of the contemporary migrant scene, along with complex truths about race and class.” —Booklist Description This beautiful graphic-novel adaptation of The Breadwinner animated film tells the story of eleven-year-old Parvana who must disguise herself as a boy to support her family during the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan. Parvana lives with her family in one room of a...

We Came To America By Faith Ringgold Published by Random House Children’s Books Age Range: 5+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “…teaches valuable lessons and boldly addresses sensitive topics like voluntary and involuntary immigration.” —Children’s Literature Description From the Native Americans who first called this land their home, to the millions of people who have flocked to its shores ever since, America is a country rich in diversity. Some of our ancestors were driven by dreams and hope. Others came in chains, or were escaping...

Their Great Gift By John Coy Photography by Wing Young Huie Published by Lerner Publishing Group Age Range: 8+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “A heartfelt reminder of a significant American ideal.” —Kirkus Reviews Description Simple text and thought-provoking photographs offer an utterly distinctive look at immigration to the United States through the eyes of children from many different backgrounds. Reviews & Accolades “Coy (Hoop Genius) and photographer Huie (Looking for Asian America), in his first book for children, deliver a visual...

Escape from Aleppo By N. H. Senzai Published by Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books Age Range: 8+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “…a gripping and intense story of the traumas inflicted on Syria’s citizens.” —Publishers Weekly Description Nadia’s family is forced to flee their home in Aleppo, Syria, when the Arab Spring sparks a civil war in this timely coming-of-age novel from award-winning author N.H. Senzai. Silver and gold balloons. A birthday cake covered in pink roses. A new dress. Nadia stands at the center of attention in her parents’...

A So-Called Vacation By Genero Gonzalez Published by Arte Publico Press Age Range: 14+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “A realistic view of the contemporary migrant scene, along with complex truths about race and class.” —Booklist Description This illuminating novel for young adults and up looks at contemporary as well as familial issues & sheds light on the subjects of immigrant labor & prejudice within the Hispanic community. The author blends ageless themes of fathers & sons at odds with a contemporary issue weighing on many minds. Reviews...

Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees By Mary Beth Leatherdale Illustrated by Eleanor Shakespeare Published by Annick Press, Limited Age Range: 10+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “…educators and librarians looking for a human face for the refugee crisis will find this offering essential.: —School Library Journal Description The phenomenon of desperate refugees risking their lives to reach safety is not new. For hundreds of years, people have left behind family, friends, and all they know in hope of a better life. This book presents five true...

Illegal By Bettina Restrepo Published by HarperCollins Publishers Age Range: 13+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “…an excellent choice for a book discussion group or a class conversation starter about immigration, prejudice, or gangs…” —VOYA Description A promise. Quinceañera. A promise that we would be together on my fifteenth birthday . . . Instead, Nora is on a desperate journey far away from home. When her father leaves their beloved Mexico in search of work, Nora stays behind. She fights to make sense of her loss while living in...

The Orange Houses By Paul Griffin Published by Penguin Young Readers Group Age Range: 14+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “A rich smorgasbord of themes demands provocative classroom discussion about bullying, war, illegal immigration, and last but so not least, friendship.” —VOYA Description Tamika Sykes, AKA Mik, is hearing impaired and way too smart for her West Bronx high school. She copes by reading lips and selling homework answers, and looks forward to the time each day when she can be alone in her room drawing. She’s a tough girl who mostly...

Where Will I Live? By Rosemary McCarney Published by Second Story Press Age Range: 6+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “A poignant photojournalistic look at the issues confronting refugee children and their families…” —School Library Journal Description This stunning photo essay takes a look at the thousands of children around the world who have been forced to flee war, terror, hunger and natural disasters, young refugees on the move with very little left except questions. It’s hard to imagine, but the images here will help unaffected children...

Shelter By Celine Claire Illustrated By Qin Leng Published by Kids Can Press Limited Age Range: 3+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “…beautiful tale that reads like a fable to teach giving and kindness, with artwork that warms up as its characters do.” —Kirkus Reviews Description As a big storm approaches, two strangers arrive in the forest. All the animal families, safe in their homes, are worried. They wonder, ‘What are they doing there? What do they want?’ So, as the pair knocks at the door of one home after another asking for shelter,...

Turtle Island By Kevin Sherry Published by Penguin Young Readers Group Age Range: 3+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “…a sweet, fantastic depiction of community building.” —Kirkus Reviews Description Turtle is big. But the ocean is bigger. And Turtle is all alone. Until four shipwrecked folks—a bear, an owl, a frog, and a cat—climb to safety on his shell. Before long, they’re fast friends, and the sea doesn’t seem so vast anymore. But when Frog confides that he misses his family, Turtle doesn’t understand. Isn’t he their...

How Dare The Sun Rise By Sandra Uwiringiyimana Published by HarperCollins Publishers Age Range: 13+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “The title is a critical piece of literature, contributing to the larger refugee narrative in a way that is complex and nuanced but still accessible for a YA audience.” —School Library Journal Description This profoundly moving memoir is the remarkable and inspiring true story of Sandra Uwiringiyimana, a girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who tells the tale of how she survived a massacre, immigrated to America,...

Dear World By Bana Alabed Published by Simon & Schuster Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “Eight-year-old Alabed delivers a gripping first-hand account of the war in Syria…” —Publishers Weekly Description When seven-year-old Bana Alabed took to Twitter to describe the horrors she and her family were experiencing in war-torn Syria, her heartrending messages touched the world and gave a voice to millions of innocent children. Bana’s happy childhood was abruptly upended by civil war when she was only three years old. Over the next four years, she...

Welcome By Barroux Published by little bee books Age Range: 2+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “This modern fable works as an engaging read-aloud and discussion starter for anyone looking to build community.” —School Library Journal Description Three lost polar bears search for a new home in this timely book from award-winning French illustrator Barroux. Life is quiet and peaceful on the ice for three polar bears, until, “CRACK!” The ice breaks, and they drift away. The sea is dangerous, so they need to search for a new home. Then, the polar...

A Map Of Home By Randa Jarrar Published by Penguin Publishing Group Age Range: 18+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “A coming-of-age story that’s both singular and universal-an outstanding debut.” —Kirkus Reviews Description In this fresh, funny, and fearless debut novel, Randa Jarrar chronicles the coming-of-age of Nidali, one of the most unique and irrepressible narrators in contemporary fiction. Born in 1970s Boston to an Egyptian-Greek mother and a Palestinian father, the rebellious Nidali—whose name is a feminization of the word “struggle”—soon...

My Beautiful Birds By Suzanne Del Rizzo Published by Pajama Press Inc. Age Range: 6+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “If you’ve been wondering how to present the refugee crisis to children without losing faith in humanity, take a look at this graceful, even uplifting book.” —The New York Times Book Review Description Behind Sami, the Syrian skyline is full of smoke. The boy follows his family and all his neighbors in a long line, as they trudge through the sands and hills to escape the bombs that have destroyed their homes. But all Sami can think of...

A Land Of Permanent Goodbyes By Atia Abawi Published by Penguin Young Readers Group Age Range: 12+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “[An] unforgettable novel that brings readers face to face with the global refugee crisis…” —Kirkus Reviews Description Narrated by Destiny, this heartbreaking — and timely — story of refugees escaping from war-torn Syria is masterfully told by a foreign news correspondent who experienced the crisis firsthand. In a country ripped apart by war, Tareq lives with his big and loving family . . . until the bombs strike. His...

Malala’s Magic Pencil By Malala Yousafzai Illustrated by Kerascoet Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Age Range: 4+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat “This is an excellent book to begin conversations about world injustice with children.” —NYT Book Review Description Malala’s first picture book will inspire young readers everywhere to find the magic all around them. As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra...

Refugee By Alan Gratz Published by Scholastic Inc. Age Range: 9+ Find a copy at Amazon | IndieBound | B&N | Worldcat This compelling novel will help young people make sense of today’s refugee crisis. — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Description JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world . . . ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America . . . MAHMOUD is...